Janine suffered a tremendous loss when her fiancé, Johnny, passed away 52 days before their wedding day.

To honor him and cope with her grief, she decided to do a memorial photo shoot in her wedding dress.

‘My expectation was to find a certain closure and to have a photo shoot of my dress in a different way that not your average bride would even think of doing. I wanted to be free and I wanted to do something different.’

Janine told her photographer that she felt a strong connection to water, for its cleansing, purifying and freeing properties. Her photo shoot took place in the Riviera Maya in Mexico, and the water served as a liberation from her grief.

‘The day of the shoot I woke up…very excited, but I was also very nervous. My dress was huge and I didn’t know what to expect while I was in the water. I had no idea what a cenote was.’

Each photo is extremely powerful in its own way. Whether it’s finding peace of mind, feeling someone’s loss or actually diving in your own grief, they have it all.

‘This day was very emotional. At the end of the day I felt so accomplished and I felt more alive than I have ever felt since May 1st. I really felt that Johnny was smiling down at me and finally giving me closure that I can live my life in a positive way, but never forgetting why I was here.’

Strangely enough, even grief has its own beauty and purpose.. and things as simple as some photos can bring healing to our souls.